It’s no secret that insurers must transform their organizations to compete in the experience-driven digital economy, with its new and evolving ecosystems. What is less well-understood is the fundamental technology shift required to reach prospective customers with updated products leveraging new partners and data while building engagement with existing customers.

A key theme at LIMRA’s recent Group and Worksite Benefits Conference was how carriers could adapt to the disruption swirling about the insurance industry in the form of new entrants, market forces, customer expectations, products, and processes. What are the impacts on the benefits sector?

Are you a benefits insurer planning to move down market? How will you win in the small case, small business market? Here are 5 questions to ask yourself and a checklist of 7 capabilities that you will very likely find you need.

Observations on legacy modernization trends for benefits insurers in Novarica’s new report

Since health care reform and the explosion of voluntary benefits, the group benefits market underwent dramatic disruption. That disruption hasn’t slowed since, and in many ways has only grown stronger. This has opened the door to a lot of opportunity that has yet to be taken advantage of.

A very similar, consistent theme emerged in sessions throughout LIMRA’s recent Enrollment Tech conference. Insurance companies want to be at a place where all communication is API driven, especially when it comes to enrollment communication with enrollment vendors. This message was very evident in the presentation by Prudential and ADP that kicked off the conference, in the presentation by Maxwell Healthcare and EIS Group, and in other sessions.

Your distribution engine powers sales, but the fuel you need for each market segment differs. The capabilities you need to support voluntary sales by brokers in the small case market versus those focused on the large case market vary greatly. So the question for insurers planning a down market move is: will you find the distribution you need?

As we move inexorably forward into a digital future, many companies are giving hefty consideration to how well they’re keeping pace with developing technologies. Overwhelmingly their answer is “Poorly.” Nearly all of those surveyed agreed on the importance of digital transformation; 95 percent say customers and end-users should have truly unique experiences and 80 percent worry about their companies being left behind if they couldn’t. What can we do better? Try a more integrated approach.